(cameras clicking)
...Harvey! >> More than 60 women have come
forward to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment, assault and
rape. >> By the mid-nineties, we were
aware of what the was alleged to be doing.
>> Weinstein has repeatedly denied allegations of
non-consensual sex. >> He believed he was going
to be untouchable. >> NARRATOR: The
story of how Harvey Weinstein silenced his accusers.
>> Harvey Weinstein had an incredibly complex machine
designed to maintain silence around this.
>> I just remember feeling so powerless and furious...
>> Large pay-outs, nondisclosure agreements...
>> Absolutely in fear of death, I was not allowed to talk to a
journalist. >> An array of private
investigation firms.... >> They completely destroyed me
and my image. >> He had one of the most
powerful legal teams in the country.
>> He got very angry and said “I've investigated you and
you're not so clean so be careful."
>> NARRATOR: The insiders speaking out for the first time.
>> It was the company that was completely and utterly ruled by
Harvey. And Harvey was a dictator.
>> NARRATOR: About what Hollywood knew.
>> I think looking back that I did know and I chose to
suppress it. I chose to hide from that fact. >> NARRATOR: A Frontline
special, “Weinstein”. ♪ ♪
>> I was just starting my career, it was the early '90s.
I was just out of acting school, going on auditions and pounding
the pavement. ♪ ♪ The first time I met him was in
the Miramax office, and it was a, you know, a legitimate
meeting set up by my agents. The first moments of that
meeting were very easy, breezy, casual.
You know, "Welcome to the Miramax family."
And I felt very much like he was going to take care of me.
And then he said, "There's a screening this afternoon of one
of our movies, you know, you should come.
I'll have my car come pick you up."
♪ ♪ Once I got there I realized it
wasn't a special screening with cast and crew, it was just a
movie. ♪ ♪
I wanted to leave, he sort of said, "Oh I'll take you home."
We ended up stopping at his house.
And then I-I ended up going up probably against my better
judgment. Once I was in there we had
another hour-long conversation about movies and film.
And he went into the other room and he came back with.... with a
robe on, and the robe was just like an open robe.
I didn't even look to see, you know.
I was just so stunned. There was no suave moves or
anything, like there was just a really weird, awkward, "Will you
give me a massage?" I had to say just "No, and I--
I'm not comfortable." He left the room and he came
back and he was just fully naked.
I thought, "He's coming after me."
(sighs) Um...
I just remember sort of darting back and forth trying to get
past him. You know in that moment that
you may not make it. I told him that I was furious, I
said, you know, I said, "I can't believe you're doing this to me.
I don't know if he heard me, but he may have, he might have heard
me, I don't know. (sniffles)
I mean, I do... I was able to finally get a... a way out.
I knew that if I went up against Harvey Weinstein, I mean, just
instinctually, I'd be squashed. So I was scared.
And so I didn't say anything to the people that might have been
able to help me. >> NARRATOR: Katherine Kendall
is one of over a hundred women who have come forward with
allegations against Harvey Weinstein since October 2017. Many of these women are now
suing him. Weinstein declined to be
interviewed. But through his spokeswoman, he
provided "Frontline" with written responses to the
allegations in this film. He denies any criminal conduct. >> Harvey Weinstein was one of
the most powerful people in Hollywood for decades, and he
was a darling of the American political world. Any time you have a story like
this where people are getting hurt over decades and decades,
there are people around who knew enough and could have done more
to stop it. >> I think this is a momentous
reckoning. But, frankly, I think there's so
much more to discover. Who knew about this?
How much of a cover up was this? ♪ ♪
>> It began in Buffalo, it all began in Buffalo. It was a brash, young fellow
from Flushing, Queens, who arrived here as an 18-year-old
freshman at the University of Buffalo. I believe he only put in a year
before he was just kind of mesmerized by all of the
opportunities that awaited him here.
♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: Weinstein built
up a successful concert promotion
business. Then, in 1980, he made his first
film. ♪ ♪ >> It was a gory film about a
guy that comes back for revenge and murders the people at the
camp. (screaming) >> NARRATOR: 24-year-old Paula
Wachowiak worked on the film as an intern.
One day, she says, she was asked to take some checks to a hotel
room for Weinstein to sign. >> He was standing there and he
had a hand towel around his waist.
I handed him the folder and he dropped the hand towel, and all
the while he's asking me questions about checks.
And he, at some point, sat down on the bed, and he plopped the
folder on his lap, and then he started saying, "What about this
one," and he's pointing. And I'm not gonna look down so I
say, "Which one is that, Harvey?"
Then he said, "I have a-a crick in my shoulder," he said, "could
you give me a massage, could you rub it out for me?"
And at that point I looked at him and I said, "Harvey, I don't
think that's in my job description." >> NARRATOR: Another young woman
working on the film, Suza Maher-Wilson, says Weinstein
approached her at a party after filming had finished.
This is the first time she's spoken publicly about it.
>> There was a hotel room right off the lobby.
And that's when he like lured me in there to give him a massage.
And I agreed, being a 23-year-old naïve, trusting
young woman. He, said, "I'm going to the
lavatory." And I said, "Okay."
And then I... He came out and he was naked
with a towel and it was a little shocking.
And I just said, "I'm sorry, this isn't... this isn't what I
signed on for." And, I-I left the room
immediately. >> NARRATOR: Weinstein has since
said in a statement, "I came of age in the '60s and '70s.
That was the culture then." In his responses to "Frontline,"
he denies Paula Wachowiak's account, and disagrees on the
details of Suza Maher-Wilson's account.
>> I told probably a handful of people, but no one seemed
shocked 'cause he was the producer.
We all felt it was typical of someone in a position of power
to wield that over younger, younger girls.
>> I don't think anyone would have listened to me.
I don't think it would have mattered.
I'm not famous. I didn't think that my story
meant anything to anybody. >> NARRATOR: Weinstein soon left
Buffalo for New York City. Miramax-- the film company he
founded along with his brother Bob-- was expanding.
They saw themselves as artists, outsiders to the Hollywood
system. >> At Miramax we're not under
that corporate pressure to say, "Jesus, we've got to go up each
year." We can do what we think is good
and if our profits are lower next year than they were the
year before, so what? So what, as long as we did good
work. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: The company made its name with movies that
mainstream studios ignored. Weinstein's power was growing,
and he was working with top Hollywood actresses. (radio chatter)
>> Come on, we got him. >> NARRATOR: In 1992, Sean
Young, who was already known for movies like "Blade Runner,"
starred in his latest film "Love Crimes."
>> Who the (bleep) are you? >> District Attorney,
ass(bleep). I play a character who discovers
this sexual predator, and then tracks them down, and then the
tables are turned and is entrapped by him. The wire went out.
I wanted to get him under felony and I needed it on tape.
I was sitting in Harvey's office after the picture.
And this is the only time this has ever happened to me, he
pulled his... thing out and my response was, "You know, Harvey,
I really wouldn't be pulling that thing out because it's
really not pretty." And I got up and I left.
>> NARRATOR: In his responses, Weinstein told "Frontline" Sean
Young's account is untrue, he never met her in his office or
anywhere else, and had nothing to do with her career.
It was the last time she would work on a Miramax film.
>> The reason I didn't get another movie with Harvey
Weinstein was that I made him feel foolish.
♪ ♪ I was set to have a very big
career, but I upset a few important men, and the
trajectory of my career went... Whooo...
(imitates crash) ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: In 1993, Miramax was bought by Disney, helping
Weinstein become one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood.
Disney says it was unaware of any sexual misconduct complaints
against him. But his colleagues say he was
notoriously difficult to work for. >> Working at Miramax was like
being in a cult. The cult of Harvey. It was common knowledge,
everybody knew what a brutal regime it was.
He worked beyond the limits of normal human beings. >> NARRATOR: Paul Webster joined
Miramax in 1995. This is his first television
interview about Weinstein. >> I knew I was making a deal
with the devil. I knew he was a bully, I knew he
would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
I knew he had a volcanic temper. I knew he was a dangerous
character. But I knew also that he was at
the epicenter of where I wanted to be.
>> NARRATOR: Despite his reputation as a bully, Hollywood
stars continued to line up to work with him.
A part in one of his films could mean artistic credibility, fame,
and awards. >> Oh, my love!
I thought you were dead! >> NARRATOR: In 1998,
26-year-old Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in "Shakespeare in
Love." (cheers and applause)
♪ ♪ It won both her and Weinstein
Oscars. >> This is a movie about life
and art, and art and life combining is called magic.
>> NARRATOR: Weinstein was at the top of the Hollywood
establishment. But a reporter with sources in
the movie industry was investigating a disturbing rumor
about him. >> We had heard that Gwyneth
Paltrow had been assaulted. We heard it from a director who
was very upset about it, and wanted it to be out there.
And we thought well, "Yeah, you know, we gotta try and do this." But there was no path forward at
that point at all. If you call their publicist and
say, "I wanted to talk to Gwyneth Paltrow because I heard
she was attacked by Harvey Weinstein," you can imagine how
that phone call would go. It would be short.
(laughs) >> NARRATOR: Paltrow didn't
address the rumors at the time, and never
accused him of assault. But she's since said that
Weinstein harassed her, and that she told her agent, and her
then-boyfriend Brad Pitt, who confronted Weinstein.
>> It's a hard choice to make. She could take him on or have
her career, and I'm not blaming her for not wanting to take him
on. We've seen in the aftermath, the
lengths to which he would go to destroy people who tried to take
him on. (indistinct chatter) >> NARRATOR: Whatever rumors had
been circulating about Harvey Weinstein, his power only grew. Some of the up-and-comers who
met him say they were unaware of his reputation. >> In 1998 I was 24.
Modeling around the world, I thought I was tough.
>> NARRATOR: Zoe Brock met Weinstein at the Cannes Film
Festival. >> We were taken into the
Majestic Hotel to have dinner, and that was where I was sat
next to Harvey. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: As the evening was drawing to a close, she says
Weinstein offered her a ride. >> Then Harvey told us that he'd
spoken to everybody and they were going to join us at the du
Cap, where he was staying, which is 30 minutes out of Cannes and
quite remote. >> NARRATOR: When they arrived
at his hotel, she says Weinstein's entourage
disappeared and her friends were nowhere to be seen.
>> My friends were never coming, that was a blatant lie.
So we get to the hotel room. And I remember sobering up fast. And then Harvey walked back in
and he was naked. So he's negotiating, he's
negotiating a massage. "I want a massage.
Come on, give me a massage, give me a massage.
Just, you know, let me give you a massage.
Blah blah blah blah blah." And he's rapid fire, and he
takes control of the situation. I very unwillingly let him
maneuver me into his bedroom, and sat... sat on the bed.
I may have even been stupid enough to lie down and he
started to massage my shoulders. And within seconds I knew that,
that was just not going to fly, there was no way this was
happening. And I got up and I bolted into
the bathroom and he chased me. But I remember locking the door
and him being on the other side of it and banging.
I screamed at him, "Put your (bleep) clothes on you naughty
(bleep) boy." And I meant it.
And it worked. I came out of the bathroom and
he was apologizing, and he... started to cry. And he said something that I
have never forgotten and I never will for the rest of my days, in
between his tears, "You don't like me because I'm fat." I really felt sorry for him in
that moment. At that point I had no idea
obviously how dangerous he really was.
>> NARRATOR: Weinstein's responses to "Frontline" do not
directly dispute Zoe Brock's allegations, but say she is
"publicizing her lawsuit seeking damages from Mr. Weinstein,
despite the fact that she never complained to anyone at the
time." But Zoe Brock says she told many
people. >> I told my agent.
I told so many people in Hollywood-- producers, casting
agents-- everyone's reaction across the board was always,
"Oh... Yeah, Harvey." >> NARRATOR: Zoe Brock's agent
denies that she told him. ♪ ♪
But, across Hollywood, many models and actresses now say
they told their agents about Weinstein's behavior.
>> The agents had to know. The top agents had to know. And, frankly, any agent who knew
what was happening with Harvey Weinstein should be coming
forward now explaining what happened. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: One of the most influential talent firms in
Hollywood, Creative Artists Agency, has since said in a
statement, "We apologize to any person the agency let down." By now, some inside
Miramax had started to connect the dots about Weinstein's
behavior. >> My memory is that I was fully
aware that Harvey was a serial womanizer. There would be times when you'd
be kicked out of the suite in the Savoy or the Peninsula Hotel
in L.A., and he would entertain. But it didn't take too much
brainpower to put it together that a man who was so abusive
and bullying in every aspect of his life would bring that abuse
into the sexual arena. I think looking back that I did
know and I chose to suppress it. I chose to hide from that fact.
I think we were all enablers. I think we were, we were all
complicit. Could I have done anything at
the time? Well, for one, I never thought
about doing anything about it. I know that I prevented my
assistant being called to the Savoy Hotel late at night.
I said, "No, you can't go." So, obviously I was aware of
that. I didn't have the guts to do
anything about it. I think the deal I'd made with
the devil was to my advantage. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: With no one in Hollywood calling him out,
Weinstein's alleged behavior continued.
Zelda Perkins was one of his assistants.
>> The first time that I traveled alone abroad with him,
he insisted that I went into the bathroom while he had a sauna
because he needed to do work, and I refused to go in the
sauna. And he said, "Well I... this
isn't working, I'm going to have a bath instead."
So I tried to leave the bathroom, he said, "You can't
leave, I need to... we need to get this business done." He was reeling off names of all
the actresses that he had had some sort of sexual relations
with or who had given him massages or whatever. And I remember looking round at
him and saying, "How do you look at yourself in the mirror?
How do you-- how do you do that?"
And I can remember him looking back at me, utterly nonplussed
and saying, "I have no problem at all."
♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: In 1998, Perkins
accompanied Weinstein to the Venice Film Festival, along with
a new colleague. >> She came to me in a very
distressed state and told me that he had assaulted her, that
he'd attempted to rape her. I was completely sideswiped by
this. I went straight to Harvey and
confronted him about what had happened, and he swore on-on
the life of his wife and children that absolutely nothing
had happened. >> NARRATOR: But Perkins didn't
believe him. She and her colleague quit
Miramax and went to lawyers in London for advice.
>> There didn't seem to be any recourse in terms of bringing
Harvey to justice. We had no physical proof, we
hadn't gone to the police in... on the Lido in Venice.
Really the only option that we were given was to request
damages. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: In negotiation with Weinstein's lawyers, they asked
for around $200,000 each, and also insisted on measures that
would protect Miramax employees from harassment: therapy
sessions for Weinstein, a new HR policy, and a clause that could
see him fired if he paid off any more women.
Weinstein accepted the terms on condition they sign a
non-disclosure agreement, or N.D.A.
>> We weren't allowed to talk to anybody about the alleged
behavior, but also about our time at Miramax.
This wasn't a normal confidentiality agreement; this
wasn't us saying that we weren't gonna, you know, give away
corporate secrets. This was a deeply personally
binding agreement, which certainly in my colleague's
case, meant that she couldn't ever speak about a huge
personal trauma that happened to her. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: Perkins would eventually decide to break her
N.D.A. But her former colleague has
maintained her silence. In his statement to "Frontline,"
Weinstein denies the attempted rape allegation, and says that,
"Ms. Perkins asked for money instead of reporting her claims
to the authorities." >> So, you take your check and
you try to deal with it as best you can, you know.
He got away with it for years, just on the strength of that. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: Weinstein went on to use N.D.A.s with multiple
women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
In his response to "Frontline," he said, "Over a period of 30
years there were actually less than ten settlements of
harassment claims." And that "none of these
settlement agreements prevented any individual from going to the
police had they wished to do so."
>> The use of N.D.A.s on behalf of Weinstein to silence women
who agreed to them was an enabling factor. It allowed him to silence
complaining victims and just see it as a cost of doing business. So he knew that he had nothing
to fear from continuing with the behavior that led to the problem
in the first place, and again, and again, and again. >> NARRATOR: 4 years later,
a journalist at the "New Yorker" magazine heard that Weinstein
had been settling sexual harassment claims. >> I had never encountered an
N.D.A., a nondisclosure agreement, and you're talking
about large sums of money. And each case hundred, hundreds
of thousands of dollars. >> NARRATOR: He began to
investigate. Then he got a name-- Zelda
Perkins. She had moved to Guatemala, but
he tracked her down. >> I picked up the phone and
this gentleman asked me directly about whether I had an agreement
with Harvey Weinstein. >> She was really terrified--
"How'd you find me?" >> I think I might have even
said, "Yes, I ha-- yes," when he said, "Do you have an agreement
with Harvey?" And then panicked and was like,
"No, no, I haven't... yes, I have... no, I haven't, no, I
can't talk to you." I just knew that one thing that
I absolutely in fear of death I was not allowed to talk to a
journalist. >> NARRATOR: Perkins wouldn't
agree to an interview for Auletta's story, but he
decided to confront Weinstein. >> We were sitting in a small
conference room, across from each other and I said, "Harvey,
tell me about Zelda Perkins." He rose, and he clenched his
fists, and he raised his shoulders, and he said, "This is
a f..." you can imagine-- "an outrage," and he started
screaming at me. So I thought he was going to
throw a punch at me. So I stood up, and that point
Harvey started to cry. It was extraordinary.
And what he'd said was, "Ken, you're going to ruin my
marriage, these were consensual relationships.
And if you publish this you're going to destroy my-my family." >> NARRATOR: Auletta couldn't
get anyone to speak on the record about the N.D.A.s and
allegations of sexual misconduct.
He and his editors concluded they couldn't publish what he'd
heard. >> I wish I could have nailed
the guy in 2002. The problem I had was that I
couldn't prove it. Clearly, people knew or
suspected that Harvey was a... was a predator, sexual predator.
And-and they kept their mouths shut.
(reports shouting indistinctly) >> NARRATOR: As Weinstein fended
off reporters from the mainstream press, he was
courting the tabloids. >> Harvey liked to have a good
relationship with the media, and I guess 'cause I'm a Brooklyn
guy and he's a Queens guy, he took to me. And we'd spend some time on the
phone, shooting the breeze about what went on last night, where
were the parties, what did you do?
>> NARRATOR: Gossip writer, AJ Benza, heard from a source
that Weinstein was having an affair.
I called him, and he said, "Not true, not true, not true."
And then he called back and said, "Okay, there's something
to it, let's try to work this out." >> NARRATOR: Although Weinstein
denies it, Benza says they cut a deal.
He would be paid to supply celebrity gossip that Weinstein
could trade with other reporters who dug up dirt on him.
>> The gossip industry is run on the barter system. If I've got a story about you
and you don't want it printed, you say, "Hold it, I'll get you
something better, and I'll print the other story and save you."
That's done every day, so what Harvey and I were doing was
something that was already-- it was always done.
>> NARRATOR: Despite the rumors about Weinstein at the time,
Benza insists he never heard any sexual harassment allegations.
>> I know it sounds ridiculous, but in the 20 years I knew
Harvey there was never a story about him going after somebody
sexually. Finding out now all these women
are... were in some kind of hell with him, no clue, not at all.
♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: But other reporters
in Hollywood were still trying to pin down the rumors they'd
heard. Kim Masters, who'd been writing
critical stories about Miramax, got a meeting with Weinstein.
>> I met him at the Peninsula Hotel, for the first time face
to face. He comes in very aggressive,
yelling and screaming, "What have you heard about me?"
And I sort of had this now or never thing, and I said, "I've
heard you rape women." He did not seem shocked or
outraged. You would expect a normal person
to say, "I'm sorry, what? How dare you"-- and there was
none of that at all. >> NARRATOR: In his response to
"Frontline," Weinstein said that he wasn't shocked because he'd
already heard the allegation and it was false.
>> I'd heard really brutal allegations.
We couldn't write about those, we couldn't get it on the
record. I think he kind of believed, as
he did with reason for years to come, that he was going to be
untouchable. (reporter shouting indistinctly)
>> NARRATOR: Weinstein would eventually leave Miramax after
a series of disputes with Disney.
He and his brother set up The Weinstein Company.
>> Quick picture, please! >> NARRATOR: Rumors about his
conduct continued to circulate throughout Hollywood, but he
kept making hits, and winning awards.
>> "The King's Speech." Iain Canning, Emile Sherman...
>> Thank you, Harvey Weinstein. >> And, of course, Harvey.
>> Harvey, thank you for killing whoever you had to kill to get
me up here today. (laughter) >> I think the entire industry
knew that he was obsessed with young actresses, that he was a
cheater on his wife, and that he "made the scene" with many
women. I don't know who actually knew
what was happening. >> And the Golden Globe goes
to... Meryl Streep. >> It was a time and a place
where to be in his circle was to be successful.
>> I just want to thank my agent, Kevin Huvane, and God,
Harvey Weinstein. (laughter)
>> NARRATOR: Some of Hollywood's biggest stars-- like Meryl
Streep-- have since said they were unaware of Weinstein's
alleged misconduct. But a handful have admitted they
knew, including director Quentin Tarantino.
He said, "I knew enough to do more than I did." And that, "Everyone who was
close to Harvery had heard of at least one of those incidents."
>> I think there are still a lot of people out there who know way
more about what was happening here than what they've cared to
share. They were, in many ways, the
great enablers for Harvey's behavior.
Being in his grace was allowing them to make their careers more
successful, but there were so many times they should've said
something, stopped something, spoken up. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: In 2011, Weinstein invited actress Jessica Barth
for a business meeting at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly
Hills. >> He said that there was a role
in Sarah Jessica Parker's new film.
And then it very quickly shifted to asking me to give him a
naked massage on the bed. I was like, "You know, I'm
married." And he said-- I said, "You are
too, right?" And he said, "Yes, but we
have... we have an arrangement." And I was like, "You know what,
Harvey, about done with this conversation right now."
So I left, I shut the door, and I burst into tears.
I told my family, and then I told Seth McFarlane, he was a
close friend of mine. (cheers and applause)
>> I'm Seth McFarlane, the host of the Oscars.
Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be
attracted to Harvey Weinstein. (laughter)
>> And then I was like, good, I'm glad.
I'm glad he just did that. Because at that point, nobody
was saying anything publicly. I feel like everybody kind of
knew about Harvey, but nobody was saying anything publicly.
Honestly there wasn't any reaction after that.
I guess they still wanted to make movies and collect their
awards and just go on their merry way.
(chuckles) >> NARRATOR: By 2015,
allegations of Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct
had been whispered among industry insiders for decades,
but still hadn't become public. That was about to change. ♪ ♪
It started when Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, a 22-year-old Italian
model, went to the New York police.
She had just had a meeting with Harvey Weinstein. >> The story that she told is
that shortly after she came in, Harvey Weinstein inquired about
whether her breasts were real or not, he groped her breasts, he
reached up her skirt and he tried to kiss her. It degenerates from her coming
up there to discuss her career to her fighting this guy off in
his office. >> NARRATOR: The police wanted
evidence. They asked her to meet Weinstein
again, and this time wear a wire.
The next night, she met him at a hotel near his office. >> After I left the hotel I was
with the police. I felt completely positive about
what I'd done. They were super happy and like
saying, "Wow, now, this person is completely finished; you
saved a lot of women." >> The N.Y.P.D. arranges to
speak with Harvey Weinstein, and he's denying that anything
happened. But they felt that the accuser
was credible and these charges were worth pursuing.
And that's what they told the... the Manhattan district attorney.
>> NARRATOR: With New York prosecutors now considering
whether to press charges, Weinstein for the first time
found himself in a story he couldn't suppress.
>> Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's facing sexual
assault allegations this morning.
>> It's on the front page of "The Daily News."
It's on the front page of "The New York Post."
This is already a huge story. >> The stunning Italian model
who's accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse.
>> The woman alleges that Weinstein grabbed her thigh and
chest. >> And so within 36 hours of the
news coming out, this was the big story in New York City. >> When Ambra Gutierrez came
forward with her allegation, a machine mobilized to shut down
these charges, and that included Harvey Weinstein
hiring power lawyers. He had one of the most powerful
P.R. teams in the country. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: Weinstein also employed the services of K2, a
private intelligence firm usually specializing in
corporate investigations and security.
No one from K2 would agree to an interview, but a former employee
who was there at the time says Weinstein's request was unusual.
We agreed to hide his identity as he still works in the
industry. >> Harvey Weinstein came
to K2 initially with a matter that they probably wouldn't take
on if it was somebody else. Nobody likes to develop
information on somebody who's accusing a client of sexual
misconduct. But Harvey Weinstein being
Harvey Weinstein, exceptions were made.
>> NARRATOR: He says K2 was tasked with investigating
Gutierrez' past in Italy and providing the information
to Weinstein. >> Stuff started leaking out of
the Weinstein camp about her past.
>> She once filed a sexual assault suit against a
70-year-old "sugar daddy." >> There was a report that she
had been sleeping with a 70-year-old man in return for
gifts from this guy. >> It lasted for like a week,
everyday something different coming out.
Everything was about me being a blackmailer, a prostitute. >> NARRATOR: Prosecutors asked
to meet with Gutierrez. She had given
conflicting accounts of what happened in
Italy. >> They were asking me questions
like, "Are this news real?" Like, "You're a prostitute?"
I was asking them like, "Did you hear the recording?"
They were like, "Oh yes, I heard of it, but you have to
explain this situation in Italy is very confusing."
I was like, "Guys, I mean, I'm the victim."
>> NARRATOR: Concerned how her story would play to a jury, the
district attorney's office announced Weinstein would
not be prosecuted. Manhattan District Attorney
Cyrus Vance Jr. declined to be interviewed.
His office told "Frontline" they acted professionally, and that
what emerged from the audio and subsequent investigation was
insufficient to prove a crime under New York law. >> The case rose and fell
entirely on a study of the reputation of the accuser.
Everybody just focused on Ambra and nobody focused on the guy
that she accused. >> NARRATOR: Like other women
before her, Gutierrez went on to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
She received a million dollars-- Weinstein's biggest known
settlement. She says the deal doesn't
prevent her from giving an interview, but she can't reveal
the details of the alleged assault. >> There is 18 pages, like
really, really like, written in very small letters and there is
a list of different things I can't do and, yeah, the first of
all is silence. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: Although Weinstein hadn't been charged, an
allegation of sexual assault was now in the public domain.
Inside The Weinstein Company, executives absorbed the news.
>> It was on the front page of the "New York Post," and those
of us that heard about it and read it, kind of looked at each
other. I don't think anybody was too
surprised. Tom Prince, an executive who
left the company last year, is speaking out for the first time.
No current executives would agree to an interview.
Prince says he had become concerned
about Weinstein's use of company funds to fly women around the
world. >> Pretty much on every
production I would get a phone call or an email saying we
have to fly an actress to the movie set. And I would always come back and
explain to them that this is a one- or two-day role, and you
know, we're spending an awful lot of money flying somebody
from Paris to Philadelphia or from New York to New Zealand to
fulfill a role that could be occupied by a local resident
there. But this was a mandate from
Harvey. It was the company that was
completely and utterly ruled by Harvey.
And Harvey was a dictator. I thought clearly there was
something more than the actresses' acting abilities
involved with us flying somebody and spending $20,000 on a role
that would have cost $2,000. >> NARRATOR: In his response to
“Frontline”, Weinstein denied this and said that he and Prince
repeatedly clashed over budgets and other production issues. And despite Princes suspicions,
he insists only ever heard vague rumors about Weinstein's
conduct. >> I knew nothing.
I would hear things, but they were innuendoes and they were
second and third-hand. I didn't know and to be
perfectly honest, I didn't give it a lot of thought because
you're too buried in doing what you're trying to do, just trying
to survive every day. >> NARRATOR:
Bob Weinstein, who heads the Weinstein Company, has
also said that he and the board had no knowledge of his
brother's alleged misconduct, even though rumors had been
circulating within the company. >> Over the years there were
certain people and it wasn't just assistants it was
executives in the company who did have glimpses of predatory
behavior. There were HR officials who were
told about his behavior within his own company, there were
lawyers who were brought in to strike settlements, but it's not
100% clear exactly what went on behind the scenes of the
Weinstein company board in 2015, but what's clear is that the
board was aware of the Italian models allegation. >> NARRATOR: In fact, soon after
Ambra Gutierrez's settlement with Weinstein in 2015, his
contract was up for renewal and the board made some changes
aimed at his behavior. >> There was a new code of
conduct that was put into place that year approved by the board
in which they added more explicit language on sexual
harassment, they also put some terms in the contract, Harvey's
contract as well as the contract of other executives in which
there would be financial penalties if they violated that
code of conduct and the company was required to pay, to make any
payments or settlements to to-- victims of that misconduct.
So there were some measures to try to address what they thought
might be his misconduct at that time. ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: With his new contract, Weinstein's position
at the company was secure. But he was about to come under
more pressure from an unexpected quarter.
(reporters yelling indistinctly) Over the years, Weinstein had
helped raise millions for amFAR, the Foundation for AIDS
Research. But the amFAR board had
become concerned. The problem was not sexual
misconduct, but a dispute over the proceeds of a charity
auction. >> There, this is fun.
>> NARRATOR: The charity hired lawyer Tom Ajamie to investigate
exactly what happened to the money.
>> During the course of our investigation we had to
interview people. We would say to them, "Why did
it go here, why did it go there?"
The response we would get would be, "Well, before we get into
that, do you know that Harvey Weinstein rapes women? Do you know that Harvey
Weinstein is a sexual predator?" Now we had no proof of that, but
this is what we were hearing and it was very disturbing.
>> NARRATOR: Word about this got back to Weinstein and he asked
Ajamie to meet him. >> He said to me, "Tom, you're
spreading rumors about me raping women."
And my response was, "Harvey, I'm not saying that, the
community is saying that about you."
And at some point he got very angry and said, "You better be
careful, Tom, because I've investigated you, and you're not
so clean, so be careful." ♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: Weinstein has repeatedly denied rape
allegations. >> When the meeting ended, he
ran up to me and got very close to my face and said, "Please,
please sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Please don't tell anyone. Man to man, don't tell anyone
what you've learned about me." And I said, "Harvey, I can't
do that." He walked out, he got into the
elevator, and as the elevator doors were closing, I was
looking at his face and he was looking at my face, and I saw a
very sad and desperate man who was now sticking his fingers in
various parts of the dike and trying to prevent the water from
leaking out and the entire dam from falling and crushing down
on him. >> NARRATOR: Weinstein had been
trying to silence his accusers for decades.
But he was now under increasing scrutiny from
multiple news organizations. >> There had long been rumors
about Harvey Weinstein. And this was the moment in time
where the "New York Times" said, "Let's put some investigative
muscle into this." And so we spent many, many weeks
and many months trying to get women who had had encounters
with Weinstein to tell us their stories.
♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: In October 2017,
Harvey Weinstein finally lost control of the story.
>> Now to the latest on Harvey Weinstein.
"The New York Times" reporting allegations by numerous women
who say the Hollywood mogul sexually harassed them.
>> NARRATOR: It was no longer Hollywood's open secret.
It was news around the world. >> Weinstein is accused of
sexually harassing female employees and actors...
>> (reporter speaking Chinese) >> (reporter speaking Spanish)
>> (reporter speaking French) >> NARRATOR: "The New York
Times" published multiple allegations of sexual harassment
going back decades. >> Harvey Weinstein seemed to
conduct himself as if he was invincible.
So we really kind of held our breath after the story broke
wondering if it was gonna have an impact.
>> NARRATOR: Further allegations-- some of assault
and rape-- would follow in the "New Yorker."
In the following weeks, dozens more women-- some famous, some
not-- would come forward. ♪ ♪
>> I had no idea of the breadth and enormity of the story, I
thought he just preyed on us. That was the most shocking
thing, realizing that he was a serious predator, and he had
been seriously abusing people with total impunity for all this
time. (camera shutters clicking) NARRATOR:
Soon after the news broke, Weinstein was fired from
his company and went into therapy.
>> I spoke to Harvey, he doesn't sound sad and dejected,
he sounds a little bit━ a little bit humiliated, but I think
he's gearing up for the fight. >> NARRATOR: In a statement to
Frontline, Weinstein's spokeswoman said while he denies
any non-consensual sexual conduct, he is deeply apologetic
to those offended by his behavior.
The spokeswoman said “It is wrong and irresponsible to
conflate claims of impolitic behavior or consensual sexual
contact later regretted with an untrue claim of criminal
conduct, and his lawyers will respond in the appropriate legal
forum with evidence disproving the claims against him.”
>> I think Harvey's career is over.
But you know, who knows? Anything can happen. >> NARRATOR: As of now, police
in Los Angeles, New York and London are investigating rape
and sexual assault allegations going back to the 1980s.
The New York attorney general's office has filed a civil rights
case against Weinstein and the Weinstein Company - which
declared bankruptcy and is now in the process of being sold.
And a group of models and actresses is pursuing a class
action lawsuit against him. >> I don't want to go down in
history as Harvey Weinstein's assault victim, but I damn well
will if it's going to help put him in jail, and it's going to
change the system. I will.
>> Harvey, are you doing okay? >> Yeah, I'm not doing okay.
I'm trying. I gotta get help, guys.
You know what, we all make mistakes.
Second chance, I hope, okay? >> It saddens me that everybody
woke up because of Harvey Weinstein.
On the other hand, thank God we've woken up. >> Frontline is made possible by
contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.
Thank you. And by the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting. Major support is provided by the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, committed
to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world.
More information is available at macfound.org.
Additional support is provided by The Abrams Foundation:
Committed to excellence in journalism.
The Park Foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness
of critical issues. The John and Helen Glessner
Family Trust. Supporting trustworthy
journalism that informs and inspires.
And by the Frontline Journalism Fund, with major support from
Jon and Jo Ann Hagler. Captioned by
Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org >> For more on this and other
programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ ♪ "Frontline's" "Weinstein"
is available on DVD. To order, visit shop.PBS.org
or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. "Frontline" is also available
for download on iTunes. ♪ ♪
Not allegedly.
"Allegedly" harassed and abused.
I can’t watch this nor the Jusse Smolet doc. Because they both are piles of excrement
Boy I wonder how he got away with it for so long.. it couldn’t be because Hollywood is spineless right?
https://youtu.be/YPpoKquOG5Q
"Allegedly, allegedly. But also: really"
Godspeed, Norm
Scum-bag the time it took to uncover says as much about Hollywood as him.